The next MTG set is upon us, as March of the Machine brings about the Phyrexian apocalypse to the multiverse.
Elesh Norn has won. Her machinations for the domination of the multiverse were successful, but now she faces one last thing: Dimensional resistance.
Spoiler season is now in session, but the new stories from Wizards of the Coast have given us a brief glimpse at some upcoming cards and art. While some people are a little concerned surrounding the power levels of the Planeswalkers we’ve seen so far, it’s honestly still too early to tell how things will shake out.
Phyrexia: All Will Be One hasn’t dominated Standard, with Poison decks slowly slipping out of favor for more concrete archetypes. While a fun deck to pilot, there’s nothing quite like going back to the old Blue tempo.
Maybe the dynamic will change once rotation hits, and the faster, harder-hitting cards from Kamigawa and Innistrad leave the pool.
When does MTG March of the Machine launch?
March of the Machine launches on April 21. It’ll be followed on May 12 by March of the Machine: Aftermath, a much smaller set meant to cap off the story.
WotC also plans to launch the game earlier for their online games, Magic Arena and Online. You’ll be able to play with the cards during the pre-release events starting on April 18.
Pre-release is happening between April 14 to 20, and you’ll be able to go hands-on with the game beforehand. Check your local listings to see which shops are going to be playing, and when.
Where to buy MTG March of the Machine
March of the Machine will be available at all good local games stores, or your favorite places to shop online. Right now, for preordering, our best recommendations would be:
- TCGPlayer
- Starcity Games
- Magic Madhouse (based in the UK, ships to the US)
Of course, head down to your LGS to pick up your pre-release pack, play a few games and get a free code for MTGA packs.
Those who buy bundles will also get a limited box topper card. This is confirmed to be Ghalta and Mavren.
Magic March of the Machine spoilers:
MTG Spoilers: Last updated 4/3/23
Confirmed cards
So far, only a limited selection of cards have been either leaked or shown off. This includes a new card designed by world champion Yuta Takahashi. It’s called Faerie Mastermind and even features him as the faerie, possibly linking to the extortionate price for card advantage.
A majority of the spoilers so far have come from Wizard’s first looks at the new MTG set, and a few more dotted within the stories being told around the set.
Creature cards
Right now there are only two creatures that don’t fit into other categories. The two creature cards we’ve seen so far feature long-standing fan favorites fallen to Phyrexian hands.
Battle cards
Despite teasing the cards for a while, Wizards decided to just silently drop the new Battle mechanic card. Our first glimpse gives us a look at how they’ll function and more. After a further look, and the continued release, we’re unsure how long Battles will remain relevant in anything other than Commander.
The extra steps to get some mediocre effects or a neat creature and Planeswalker in Teferi don’t seem particularly fast enough to meet the current Standard or any other meta’s speeds.
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However, we do expect this to shift slightly once rotation happens in September.
Planeswalkers
From these stories, despite some great upcoming art for cards, we’ve seen two brand-new Planeswalkers. Elspeth will be getting new – but similar – powers to their first outing, while Wrenn has merged with the Realmbreaker, a dimensional splitting tree.
Chandra, Hope’s Beacon seems quite powerful, but much like the other mono-red Planeswalkers recently could see less play due to the slowness of the card. It does look like a bomb in Limited though. Straight build-around material.
Wrenn and Realmbreaker and Archangel Elspeth are fairly balanced cards but feel a little underwhelming for being the main reasons why Elesh Norn will fail.
They’re coming in at Rare, leaving the Mythic slots to our true heroes: The Gitrog Monster.
Team up cards
The new team-up cards are all the rage right now, with fans speculating who could be returning from Magic’s worst set, Homelands.
These cards are partly representations of their own mechanics and massive fan service. We never knew that we wanted the giant frog spirit, Yargle, to march into battle with a giant tree man.
March of the Machine Commander spoilers and Planechase
However, a lot of these tag team cards appear to be showing up in the accompanying Commander set, so we’ll have to see how often they’re going to ruin our day during sealed.
Speaking of Commander, the most exciting thing to come from the new March of the Machine cards is the return of MTG’s Planechase cards. These work similarly to Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon TCG’s field cards, changing how the game is played for every player.
New praetor card speculation
It also appears that there might be a new Praetor selection, possibly to keep the main villains of the arc within Standard once rotation happens. Jin-Gitaxias is now a transforming card that turns into a Saga once you meet certain requirements.
However, we’re still on the fence as it’s expected that all Praetors will see a version with the same naming conventions as the new Jin-Gitaxias. So far, we have a new Elesh Norn to contend with as well.
MTG Multiverse Legends cards
Magic will also be getting Multiverse Legends cards. These are branded by their unique stamp and aren’t Standard legal. These are similar to Masterpiece cards, or the recent Brothers’ War set’s retro artifact cards. MTG’s MOM packs will see these crop up a little more frequently than before, ensuring nearly everyone gets a piece of the pie.
As of right now, we have Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, and Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice. Both cards are exceptionally expensive on the secondhand market, with Atraxa reaching as high as $115 according to Scryfall. We’re sure as the set is evaluated by collectors and players, the prices will shift accordingly.
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